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As automation sweeps across the world, we face challenging questions about how we work – and how we play. On the one hand, we are designing ourselves out of ever more jobs, leaving us disengaged. On the other hand, games and countless internet-enabled game-like activities are powerfully addictive. Is designing work to be more like play the answer or is there something fundamental about human abilities that we’re overlooking in how we deploy technology in our lives? In this Aeon interview, the UK writer Tom Chatfield discusses what it means to be our best selves in a time of automation.
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Ecology and environmental sciences
GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds
6 minutes
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Human rights and justice
Can providing humanitarian aid be illegal? A troubling case from the US-Mexico border
17 minutes
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Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
12 minutes
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Film and visual culture
A lush animated opus evokes the frenzied pace of modern life
4 minutes
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Family life
The precious family keepsakes that hold meaning for generations
10 minutes
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Neuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
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Archaeology
What did the first people who entered Tutankhamun’s tomb see?
5 minutes
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Information and communication
Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news
17 minutes
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Childhood and adolescence
Marmar is living through a devastating war – but she’d rather tell you about her new dress
8 minutes